‘Mustafi is the king of blunders!’ – Emmanuel Petit

Ex-Arsenal midfielder Emmanuel Petit was surprised to see Shkodran Mustafi start in the North London Derby over the weekend, labelling him the “king of blunders”. The Gunners legend has revealed he was shocked to see the German line up at Wembley on Saturday, given his track record of high profile errors. The Gunners ultimately secured a 1-1 draw in the away clash against Tottenham , after Aaron Ramsey opened the scoring with a cool finish in the 16th minute. Despite outplaying their opponents for large portions of the match, Harry Kane was granted the opportunity to level the scores from the penalty spot in the second half, following an ill-advised challenge from Mustafi in the box.

The English striker duly obliged from 12 yards and the match ended level, with Pierre Emerick Aubameyang missing a late penalty for the visitors. Mustafi was handed a starting berth at right-back against Spurs, which raised more than a few eyebrows among supporters and experts prior to the match, and Petit was among those to question his inclusion. “I was surprised to see Mustafi picked for that game because he is after all the king of blunders,” said Petit.

“Even though it shouldn’t have been a penalty because there was an offside, it’s Mustafi who gives away the penalty again.” Unai Emery’s men dropped to fifth in the Premier League table after their latest result, a point behind Manchester United in fourth, who beat Southampton 3-2 on Saturday. Chelsea also picked up a win on Sunday to move within a point of the Gunners with a game in hand, as the race for the final Champions League spot begins to intensify.

Arsenal missed a glorious chance to extend their winning run across all competitions to four matches against Spurs and Petit admits he is unsure whether or not Emery is the right fit to lead the team. Alexandre Lacazette was substituted in the second period despite a generally lively performance which included an assist , much to the dismay of the travelling supporters. Petit says Emery is prone to making such decisions on a regular basis, which might prove to be recipe for disaster in the long-term.

“Emery steers the ship well but there are certain things in his management style that concern me,” he continued. “I hope I am wrong.” Despite the officials putting in a strong performance in the derby, Petit concluded by backing the Premier League’s plans to implement VAR next season, stating that the system will help ensure correct decisions are made on a consistent basis. “Today for me, the referees were a big personality but it’s not enough to make the best decision in difficult action in the box, for them and for us,” Petit added. “I think VAR is coming to help them to be fair for one match like today.”